


His Temptress

by Rosegoldine



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Adult Rin (InuYasha), Angst, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Jaken actually being a loveable character, OC, Original Character(s), Original Female Character(s) - Freeform, Post-Anime, Rape/Non-con Elements, Romance, Sesshomaru being Sesshomaru, Sesshomaru being a dickhead, SesshomaruxOC, Sirens, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, What Have I Done, Youkai, but it’s not him doing the non-con don’t worry, teenager rin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-18 11:34:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 17,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29489127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rosegoldine/pseuds/Rosegoldine
Summary: A siren’s song is known to have the most wicked power of temptation, though one must always fear a siren that walks on land. Honey drips from their tongue, sweet and tempting yet so bitter, intoxicating like the finest of rums... one must be wary of these devilish creatures as they rob you from thoughts and memories of your own, with a single taste of their lips.So with this in mind, what use does a siren truly have for the notorious Lord Of the Western Lands?What will the ever-so-impatient Sesshomaru do when his father's legacy is in jeopardy? Unusual alliances form, romances bloom, and a certain main character makes it her daily task to test Sesshomaru's patience.
Relationships: Sesshomaru/ Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 8





	1. Once upon a song

Rin let out a long sigh as she watched the colourful fish swim down the stream at an incredible speed. She often enjoyed watching the wonders of mother nature, it would cheer her up even during the most dire of times… yet now even though the scales of the fish swimming past her were nothing short of beautiful, she couldn’t crack a smile.

It has been three years since her thirteenth birthday. A special day, when Sesshomaru and Jaken had visited her – like they did each year – though this time Rin seemed hell-bent on convincing the inuyoukai to take her with him on his nomadic adventures. She loved the village too, of course, but she greatly missed exploring the world with the youkai and the small imp, she also just wanted to see more of the lands. Meeting new people, eating new cuisine, trying things she never tried before…

Of course as reluctant as Sesshomaru seemed at first, he eased into the idea by the end of the day, and let Rin tag along with him once again. And three wonderful years she spent learning and experiencing everything the world had to offer; but when she left Kaede’s village, she somehow didn’t take it into consideration, that as time would pass, ‘grown up things’ would start slipping into the picture. Grown up things, like boys. And having crushes on boys. She wasn’t sure at what point did the opposite gender stop being ‘stinky’ and ‘yucky’ and started becoming ‘cute’ and ‘heart fluttering’.

She didn’t know how to deal with the change, and she certainly wasn’t going to go with her boy problems to Sesshomaru. Or Jaken, for that matter, but sadly the small imp knew more than Rin would’ve liked, due to him following her around most of the time.

So Jaken was more than aware of the fact that during their last visit to the nearby village, Rin had worked up enough courage to confess a crush to a rather charming villager boy; who not only harshly rejected her, but then proceeded to tell her what her ears resembled the size of the moon itself. Hence the foul mood, and her lack of enjoyment of the new season creeping up on her.

Somehow this time, spring just didn’t seem all that magical as it usually did. She always adored spring until today. There was something about the way the light breeze carried the aroma of blooming flowers as it playfully escaped through the trees of the forest, or the way the birdsong filled the air once again after the long, cold months filled with snow and ice. She enjoyed watching the snow melt into the now flowery fields, the drops of cold rain on her cheeks as she jumped from muddy puddle to puddle. Not today though. Not this spring.

“Rin, you terror child, what on earth are you doing?!” the small, green youkai screeched into the girl’s ear for the tenth time that sunny afternoon, yet she didn’t seem too bothered by it; she just continued to lean over the sparkling river.

“I wish I could swim sometimes,” she hummed, pushing a couple raven strands behind her ear, though as soon as she did, she shyly pulled her hair back to cover the ear again.

Jaken, despite being notorious for his awful manners, and disregard for anyone but his beloved master, seemed to take note of Rin’s self-conscious act, and decided to speak up.

“Are you still moping because of what that rascal said to you in the village? About your ears?” he snorted, his voice condescending and frankly, way too loud for the young lady’s liking.

“...Not at all…” she let out a longing sigh. Of course she was moping.

She was turning seventeen soon after all, and many said it was the age a woman should start bearing children for a husband, or at least begin looking for a husband. But she somehow never understood why or how that process would even begin. And apparently she has massive ears, so she won’t ever get married.

“Do you think I should get married, Jaken-sama?,” she turned to face the small imp, who seemed to have gone at least ten shades paler at the suggestion.

Between the incoherent gapes and stacks of syllables jabbered, Rin couldn’t quite understand what Jaken was trying to say, and at some point she began to question if he was trying to speak or if he began to choke on his own saliva. The latter happened more often than it would be normal, it sometimes worried the girl.

“Jaken-sama…?” Their one-sided conversation was cut short when the alluring sound of a lullaby seeped through the woods, the angelic voice echoing off every branch and leaf, filling the air like the sweetest melody Rin has ever heard. “Do you hear that? Someone’s… singing,” she whispered under her breath, though her body seemed to have moved on its own as she slowly rose from her spot in the grass, taking slow yet confident steps towards what she believed to be the source of the sound.

As if she were in a trance, she put one foot in front of the other, quickening her pace, the urge to follow the voice growing stronger by the second. The song she never heard before somehow reminded her of her mother’s embrace; of safety she never thought she’d know, warmth she never thought could fill one’s chest so quickly.

Her heart beat slow and content with every step taken, and the deeper she walked in the woods the more at home she felt listening to the melody. Jaken’s warning screeches and yelling became white noise in the girl’s head, all that filled her mind was the song. The song, the song, the song.

“Rin! Rin, get back here! Hey, come on! Rin!” the small demon squawked, though his small legs couldn’t keep up with the girl, so soon enough he ended up losing her from his sight completely.

Rin’s path lead her to yet another small clearing in the forest; trees towering over the grass covered field, sparse dots and rays of sunlight escaping through the thick leaves, the golden light sparkling off the singer’s light blue hair, covering her shoulders and back like a sky silk curtain, as she sat delicately in the grass, facing away from the just arriving girl, unaware of her presence for now. The girl stumbled over her own kimono, inevitably falling on her face.

She landed heavily in the grass, a pained grunt escaping her lips, though as the unholy sound left her mouth, the lighthearted melody came to an abrupt halt; when Rin lifted her head to gaze upon the singer again, she realised the stranger now turned to face her. A spark of curiosity but mostly dread read off the unknown yokai’s young face, porcelain cheeks dotted with barely visible beauty marks, long lashes framing a pair of electric blue orbs, a long narrow nose now slightly scrunched up as she sniffed the air, seemingly trying to figure out what sort of visitor she was blessed with.

“Your voice is beautiful,” Rin allowed herself a faint smile as she paid the compliment, in response the woman’s head tilted to the side curiously.

“Thank you,” she returned the smile warily, though Rin had to admit, there was a certain elegance in her every move… It reminded her of Sesshomaru. She supposed, only youkai could carry themselves in such a powerful, dignified manner.

“I’m sorry I lured you here… I didn’t mean to, truly. I thought I was far enough from any human village, I was sorely mistaken.”

“No! It’s fine I… didn’t come from the village.” The girl quickly got back up on her feet, brushing the dust off her kimono carefully.

“Oh… I see. Well, it’s nice to meet you either way. Do you need help finding your way back to where you came from? I lured you here after all…”

Rin allowed her eyebrows to pull into a small frown as she began to pick the grass out of her own hair. It only just dawned on her what the beautiful stranger meant. Lured…?

“What do you mean by lured?” She grew uneasy, beginning to fiddle with the small strand of grass grasped between her fingers.

“Oh well…” the woman rose from her seat, her kimono clinging to her delicate figure as she brushed the dust off her clothing.

Despite her graceful presence, she barely seemed taller than the young Rin, not even from a distance. A petite creature, with a face carrying such innocence that was rare to see for a yokai.

“I really love to sing you see, but… my melodies lure humans to me who hear it.”

Rin’s heart dropped, the air growing so cold in her lungs as if she had inhaled dry ice in a matter of mere seconds. Did that mean… this woman was going to eat her? Or kill her? Or worse?


	2. Alliance

“Rin! Rin, where are you?!” Jaken heaved, as he continued to yell after the girl as loud as his tiny lungs could bear, his entire body shaking with panic rising in his chest. Rin was gone. For the first time in almost years the imp was almost certain that he lost the girl for good, and he wasn’t even scared of what the inuyoukai would do to him if he found out… no, he grew fond of the girl over the years.

And now… now he lost her in the woods.

_He lost her in the bloody woods?!_

“Sesshomaru-sama is going to kill me, he’s going to end my pitiful existence, he’s-“

“Jaken.”

Voice cold as ice, presence more suffocating than the strongest poison… the small imp didn’t even need to turn to face his master to know it was him in the flesh.

“…Sesshomaru-sama…?” he uttered, his green face dripping with sweat as he turned his head to see the daiyoukai tower over him.

He could almost feel the shinigami’s grip around his throat as he looked Sesshomaru in the eye. One was always wise to cower away in fear when that questioning gaze of his fell on them.

“Sesshomaru-sama, I-“

“Where’s Rin?”

Jaken’s already quite large eyes grew even wider at the obvious question, yet he didn’t have an answer.

Of course not, he had just lost the girl.

“W-well… well… you… you see Sesshomaru-sama…”

The daiyoukai didn’t waste time for further questions or even punishment for the small imp; only a subtle twitch of his brow served as a telltale of his annoyance as he purposefully stepped on his servant upon walking past him. Jaken obediently fell to the mud, grateful that Sesshomaru didn’t choose to slaughter him on the spot, though as soon as he was able to stand, he ran to follow the youkai.

Sesshomaru took a deep breath, already having picked up on a trail of floral scent that belonged to Rin, and despite clearly being quite irritated with Jaken’s incompetence, he decided to prioritise locating the young lady before teaching the imp a lesson he hopefully will never forget about just how much the inuyoukai loathed doing someone else’s job for them. Nevertheless, Rin couldn’t pay for the imp’s mistake, Sesshomaru had to make sure she returns to him safe and sound.

\- oOo -

“Well…” Sayuri took a deep, uneasy breath as she tried to explain herself to this stranger girl she accidentally lured to herself while singing; just for the enjoyment of the music of course, she didn’t intend on drawing any mortal souls to this small clearing she found.

Her nervous gaze fixated on the human girl, unable to tell whether that wary gaze of hers hid curiosity or malice, but the woman decided to keep her distance nonetheless. For a yokai she wasn’t exactly the strong kind; an alluring singing voice that would have put a shinigami to sleep were included in her arsenal of kami-given-talents… superhuman strength and speed… not so much. A more determined imp could have put her out of her misery, let alone a human.

“What do you mean you lured me here?” the girl echoed her question from a couple minutes earlier, urging Sayuri to finally blurt out an explanation. Which, of course only consisted of the simple fact, that she did not yet have control over her powers of temptation; but luckily she was still in development, so her voice wasn’t quite powerful enough to lure in anything else other than mortals unfortunate enough to hear her voice.

“Well you see… I’m a siren. You know about sirens, right?” the woman gently brushed a couple strands of light blue hair out of her face as she spoke, attempting to not seem nervous to the stranger, in fear of being accused of deceit. Though the girl’s response made her wish she never even opened her mouth.

The young lady seemed to have grown a couple shades paler, her rosy cheeks now deathly white as she stumbled two steps back in panic.

_Not that kind of siren! God damn my horrible reputation! I hope she doesn’t do anything rash out of fear… I have no means to protect myself…_

Before however the human girl could even utter a word - and kami be her witness, she was truly trying to - the air almost seemed to have grown colder with a heavy almost stately presence, one any youkai would’ve known to fear and respect without even having to lay eyes on whomever it belonged to.

So naturally, Sayuri’s posture rather quickly transversed from a straightened out, elegant stance to a hunched over one, trying to make herself seem smaller than she already was as she watched the leaves of the bushes give way to the daiyoukai stepping out into the small clearing.

The siren resisted the urge to let a small gasp of awe at the sight of him. She couldn’t quite bring herself to take her eyes off the perfectly symmetrical face, or the way the sun so gently illuminated his eyes, a shade of gold she had never even seen a person have before. She wasn’t even sure how to act in the presence of such a beautiful man, let alone speak any words. How would she bring herself to even move? Who was he?

Surely she didn’t lure him here…? No… she couldn’t even lure in an oni, let alone a daiyoukai…

“Sesshomaru-sama,” the human girl whispered under her breath ever so quietly, and as soon as the opportunity arose, she rushed behind the tall man, who quietly watched her pass him, before lifting his gaze on the siren.

“Ah she… belongs to you? I’m really sorry! I didn’t mean to… lure her away, I truly truly thought I was far away from any mortal beings! I knew not, that someone was so close… I am sincerely so-”

“Stop talking,” he demanded, so Sayuri obeyed. She would often get offended over such a request from anybody, but… she wasn’t going to try her luck with this man.

“I care very little for your intentions. Any fool would see that even a human girl could take you down with ease.”

_It’s that obvious, huh…_

“Well…” “I thought I said stop talking. I don’t like to repeat myself.”

Sayuri opened her mouth to apologise, but there was something in the inuyoukai’s gaze that urged her to stay silent instead. So she nodded.

_Okay. No talking._

“I’ll make this simple, so even you can fathom,” he strode gracefully over to her, though not too close, just close enough to intimidate her into submission. “Your powers are unique, even amongst youkai. I desire to have someone under my command who possesses such powers. I trust you wouldn’t dare refuse.”

“My powers?”

“Your kind is able to see inside anyone’s mind with a simple kiss, is that correct?” he tilted his head to the side, almost curiously, though his expression remained the same. Cold, nonchalant, completely uninterested. “And it’s almost impossible to find one of yours outside the protection of your goddess. But you wandered away, which was your mistake.”

“Well… may I speak now?”

He nodded in response.

“I mean… you can’t expect me to just… I mean I suppose you can, you’re a daiyoukai after all, but still! I like my freedom very much! There’s a reason why my kind is never found so far away from home,” she rambled, now completely losing control over her urge to violently fiddle with her hands, staring down at the grass in desperation.

“Stupid wench!” a small, squeaky voice came from behind the albino youkai, drawing the siren’s attention to… a tiny green imp jumping by his feet. “Sesshomaru-sama can have whatever he desires! You don’t comply, you die!”

“O-okay, but I-”

“It’s a miracle you’re still alive, if I’m honest. You’re so weak,” Sesshomaru scoffed, once again interrupting the woman.

“So… what you’re trying to say is… if I’m under your command, you’ll protect me?”

“Precisely. In return for you acquiring information from people of my choosing,” he nodded.

“Well-”

“You seem fond of that word, but you’re starting to waste my time with your pondering.”

“Well, if you’d stop-”

“There it is again,” Sesshomaru averted his gaze, almost seeming bored.

And kami be her witness, if Sayuri’s entire body wasn’t paralised with dread, she would have swung her right hook at him already.

“Ugh… fine, sure… I suppose I can… lend you my powers for protection. Not that you gave me a choice…” she hunched over in defeat, though she wasn’t sure just how she ended up agreeing to this. He didn’t even ask her nicely… nor did he care about her excuses. He just… demanded she obeyed him and she did.

_What sort of power is this?!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if Sesshomaru seemed a little out of character, he's quite hard to write, but I really did try!


	3. Legend of the Siren

Sayuri lifted her gaze on the night sky, pondering whether or not she should jump in the closest river and hope to all the gods that the daiyoukai wouldn’t follow. Despite her naturally chipper and chatterbox nature, not a word left her mouth since Sesshomaru had forced her into slavery at the clearing, and she couldn’t help but notice the uneasiness of the human companion either. 

So between the unspeakable dread settled in her chest, and having absolutely no one to talk to, the siren remained unnaturally quiet. Her first task handed to her wasn’t exactly straining, all she had to do was collect firewood with Sesshomaru’s human companion, namely Rin. Yes, the Rin who still seemed to be terrified of her.

Or so Sayuri thought until the two of them wandered off into the woods - which would have been a perfect chance for her to try and escape, but she suspected she couldn’t get far on land, and outrunning a dog demon wasn’t exactly on her bucket list - and as time went on, the human girl seemed to have eased up a little in the siren’s company.

“I’m sorry if this sounds rude or anything, but… I’ve never actually heard of land sirens before… only the ones everyone talks about. The ones who lure sailors in with their song, and then eat them,” the girl turned to the woman curiously, as they both began to gather sticks and small logs embedded into the mud.

“Oh… it’s not rude at all,” Sayuri allowed a faint smile to creep onto her face. There was a certain innocence about this human girl, which immediately seemed to cheer her up. Almost the same effect as staring at a bunch of new-born kittens. “My kind is a little different from our wild sea sisters. Have you heard the tale of Mother Myoko before?”

Curiosity sparked in Rin’s chocolate coloured orbs, and all of a sudden, Sayuri’s loss of words seemed to slowly evaporate too. Something about this young girl put her at ease, made her more comfortable to allow herself to… be more friendly. Even though her situation turned dire surreally quickly, she had to make the best of it. 

“No, but I really like tales. Do you mind telling me about Mother Myoko?” she sat down on a log, carefreely tossing the sticks in her hand onto the grass. Sayuri meant to mention that they should probably head back with the firewood soon, but she supposed she would use the opportunity to stay away from the inuyoukai. He terrified her.

“Well…”

Sayuri paused. She really did use that word a lot, did she not…

“So, there’s a tale passed amongst my kind, about a siren many many decades ago. Her name was Myoko, she was… a siren from the tales of the sailors. A siren destined to lure unfortunate sailors into their deaths and consume them afterwards,” Sayuri sat down as she spoke as she too carefully set down her load of sticks and wood she collected. “And that’s what she was doing. 

Though… fate seemed to have a different idea of her future. One sailor, named Isao, had sailed out to sea, as times were dire, and his village was struggling. He was a noble man with a noble cause in mind. Unluckily for him though, he fell in a trance upon hearing the notorious siren song…  _ voice sweet and tempting yet so bitter, intoxicating like the finest of rums.  _

And so his boat was washed up to shore that very afternoon, empty and abandoned, yet no sign of struggle, nothing was stolen. All knew what this meant; a siren had taken him, and he was never to return.”

“Oh noo, what happened to him?!” a small exasperated gasp escaped Rin as she nearly jumped up from her seat on the log, catching Sayuri by surprise with her enthusiasm. 

_ She’s certainly a lively one… _

“I’ll get to that just now,” the siren let out a soft chuckle, beginning to absentmindedly braid a couple strands of her long hair. “As the tale goes, Myoko had lured him to herself, as she would with anyone else. She lured him in, but when he saw her, he had broken out of the trance, and pleaded her to show mercy, for he was out at sea to feed the starving in his village. Myoko had listened to his plea, as she had fallen for the sailor… for the man was the most beautiful human she had ever seen. And the only man who was ever able to resist her song. So she had taken him back when the tide picked up again, but made him promise that in return of her sparing him, he must return to her and stay with her.

The next day Isao returned to the village, with a full net of fish, yet no one knew how he had escaped the siren’s call. He said nothing, just left his village with the fish, and returned to Myoko as he promised.”

“Because he was a noble man,” Rin sighed longingly.

“Exactly!” the woman nodded. “But things weren’t so simple… Myoko wasn’t the only siren living at sea. When her sisters heard of her betrayal, of her betrothal to a human, they cast her out… and cursed her to land.”

“See, those sirens are mean!” the girl pouted, folding her arms in front of his chest huffily. Sayuri found her expressive nature quite endearing, and she sort of hoped she would stay this way while she’s  _ under Sesshomaru’s command.  _

“Just listen until the end,” the woman shook her head slowly with a small smile still curling her lips. “Isao and Myoko had to seek refuge by the mountains now known as the Komori-uta mountains. Myoko’s curse had led to her losing her singing voice once she had given herself to Isao, to show her sisters’ disapproval regarding their relationship, but her magic was passed down to her female children and grandchildren too. 

Mother Myoko was the first land siren. Her daughters possess her beauty and the honey sweet voice of our wild sea sisters. But… as her enchanting prowess was inherited by her daughters, so was her curse. 

We are born with legs, but sprout tails when we submerge ourselves in water. And alas… we too lose our song when we give ourselves to a man for the first time. We will forever possess the power of seeing into the minds of those whom we share a kiss with, as a… milder version of the wild sea sirens stealing memories of those they don’t consume.”

“So… so you’ll lose your singing voice if you’re with a man too?” the girl frowned, almost seeming sad.

“I would. But I don’t intend on being with a man…! Since our rules dictate that once we are married we must move to the Komori-uta mountains to be under Mother Myoko’s protection.”

“Wait, Myoko is still alive?” Rin’s eyes widened in utter shock.

“No! No. She has turned into our protective goddess when she passed away. But you have to remember, us youkai live much longer than humans,” Sayuri reminded the girl, who then nodded understandingly in response.

“So… so you’re helping Sesshomaru-sama by looking into people’s minds then?” the girl concluded after the lengthy tale they both just sat through. 

“...Something like that…”

Sayuri wouldn’t have called it helping. Sesshomaru forced her into this, she was certain she would never see it differently. But at least she had this lively young girl to keep her company, and cheer her up, even if that man was insufferable.

“We should probably start heading back,” Sayuri let out a long, tired sigh as she collected all the branches previously thrown on the ground, and just as she was about to stand up, her forehead painfully collided with a hefty wooden staff, swung fiercely by the small green imp, whose name the siren couldn’t quite catch yet.

“What’s taking you so long, you skank?! Don’t keep the lord waiting, what is wrong with you? Do you have a deathwish?!” he screamed, still flailing the staff around, though the woman was too busy trying to collect herself after that last hit on the head.

“...No, but if you want to kill me, you’re on the right path… ow…” she whispered, rubbing her fingers against the painful spot.

“Jaken-sama, she was just… telling me the tale of Mother Myoko!” Rin attempted to salvage the situation, as she carefully picked up the branches Sayuri ended up dropping when the imp smacked her on the head. “We’ll head back now, okay?”

“...Hurry then!” he squawked one last time before storming off, just as quickly as he appeared.

Sayuri attempted to take the firewood away from Rin, not wanting her to carry all that load, though she still found herself a little out of balance. 

“Just… what the hell is his problem? He called me a wench earlier too…” 

“Jaken-sama just… needs time to warm up to people. He’s actually really nice and caring you know. He just needs time is all,” the girl explained with a sorrowful smile lingering on her lips as she began to make her way back towards their chosen campsite.

_ Caring and nice, huh… well, that stupid wooden staff surely gave me all the love I needed for the rest of the week… ow.  _


	4. Useless

Once the sun had set at last, and the moon shone its sparse blue light on the sparkling river by their nightly campsite, the forest had become an entirely different place. The originally welcoming, large trees with the sense of safety and protection now served as nothing more than intimidating thick leaves towering threateningly over the unfortunate souls who would have wandered into the woods at such a late hour. 

The sound of menacing owl hooting replaced the birdsong of the day, paired with the unmistakable monotone chirping filling the cold night air, as the gentle wind carried the scent and presence of all sorts of intrusive nocturnal youkai. Sayuri quite obviously despised the night.

Yet somehow nobody else seemed quite so bothered by their surroundings, as it could be guessed by the deep slumber both Jaken and Rin seemed to have slipped into a couple hours before their campfire had died down. 

Of course Sesshomaru did not lay down to rest; he sat contently by the bottom of an oak tree only a couple feet away from the rest of the group, far enough to not bother his sleeping companions, but close enough to keep an eye on the woman sitting uneasily by the embers of the once bright and warm fire. She seemed unaware of his gaze on her, and he supposed she was more occupied with trying to keep herself warm, as her small hands shakily hovered over the light orange remnants of burning wood and ash in the dust.

Even at first glance the inuyoukai had to note that the siren’s height didn’t reach the ordinary youkai’s, almost unexpectedly, she was barely taller than Rin; Rin who he knew was supposed to grow at least a couple inches before she reaches adulthood. He wondered whether Rin would ever grow taller than this woman. If so, that would look rather ridiculous would it not? Such a small creature. So frail, he thought as he continued to ponder whether or not to reignite the campfire for her or to just watch her try to warm herself over some ash.

“Crap,” he heard her whisper under her breath. He couldn’t quite stifle a condescending scoff, foolishly forgetting that while a siren’s eyesight was far from superhuman, their extraordinary hearing would have put a mole or a bat to shame. “Something funny about my suffering?”

“Not at all, it just seemed surreal how such disgusting language can come out of something so small like yourself,” the inuyoukai retorted almost immediately, although he wasn’t about to begin an argument with this woman. Not that she wasn’t just muttering under her breath, he was well aware that she definitely didn’t mean for him to hear any of her words. 

“Well… I wasn’t talking to you.”

“Your vocabulary really needs some expansion,” he commented, having heard her say  _ well  _ so many times these past hours, he almost became convinced it was the only word she actually knew how to put into a sentence.

“Your face needs some expansion,” she whispered, clearly not intending to address him once again.

“You forget that you may have superhuman hearing, but I do too,” he averted his gaze, almost enjoying the sight of her cheeks draining colour in terror. It was already obvious to him, she was… afraid of him. She didn’t say a word to him unless spoken to - something Sesshomaru appreciated actually - and even when he addressed her, he could almost smell the fear off her fragile body. “You should really watch that foul mouth of yours, I don’t like to be disrespected.”

“Of course. I’m sorry.”

Silence. Blissful silence had draped over the campsite once again, and usually Sesshomaru would have just enjoyed it while it lasted, since Rin had always been a chatterbox, and if the youkai wanted a second of silence, he had to wait for the night or… leave the group behind for a while. Though now he sort of wondered whether or not the siren would swear at the campfire again. 

He wasn’t thrilled about the new addition to their small  _ team _ , since the woman seemed to have lacked basic manners, and Sesshomaru was sure, she barely had a brain in her skull, which ultimately would have been the perfect recipe for failure. But her abilities, the powers of a landwalker siren were longed for amongst all youkai. To be in possession of such magic, was a gift… a privilege. 

And right now the one thing the inuyoukai needed the most was someone who could collect information for him without his intentions ever being known by the victims of these  _ interrogations.  _ If his target doesn’t know he’s looking for them, they will not be able to plan their next move before he does. As much as it pained him to admit, he could not deal with this situation with brute force, or by killing his way through enemy lines. And who would ever suspect anything of a woman with such beauty? 

He just hoped she really wasn’t as big of a moron as he assumed she was.

It was already decided, he made sure to not plan on employing this siren for too long. He only needed to interrogate two people, after which he could abandon her. He only promised to protect her until she was working under his command, and he couldn't care less what happened to her after the matter.

His trail of thought rudely got interrupted by the quiet shuffling, and the sound of grass crushed against a pair of light feet. He lifted his gaze on the campsite again, only to realise that the woman had given up on hovering over the ashes, and had begun to walk towards the woods opposite of his resting spot.

“Where are you going?” he called after her quietly, watching as she paused dead in her tracks, immediately freezing up.

“To… relieve myself,” she glanced back over her shoulder, before beginning to walk off again. 

Sesshomaru remained silent and just let her leave, after all, he couldn’t interfere with such a basic need. Whether or not she was lying. 

_ I sincerely hope she didn’t use this as a ruse to escape. It wouldn’t end well for her. Or me for that matter. If some wretched vermin ends up killing her, I will lose this rare opportunity of having a siren’s powers in my possession.  _

He silently watched the river flow past, the sight of different sorts of fish jumping out of the water boring him to oblivion, but he still just tried to enjoy the peace and quiet, attempting to not think about the fact that the siren might have been trying to escape. 

And oh, if he would have been handed a gold piece each time his hunch was correct about a thing or another, he would be just as rich from that money as he was now with what he inherited. Alas, only seconds have passed before a blood-freezing, ear-piercing screech would have echoed off the trees of the woods, the sound could be compared to nothing Sesshomaru has heard before. But he knew whom it belonged to though.

“She really is a moron,” he murmured to himself quietly before he swiftly moved to stand up and pick up his pace to find where the sound had come from.

Grass shuffled beneath his feet as he silently strode through the darkened forest, and although the siren didn’t scream again, the trail of scent she left behind still remained distinct from all other smells the inuyoukai picked up on his way, though the suspenseful silence urged him to quicken his pace. Surely this wasn’t it…? 

His own question was answered only a couple seconds later, when heavy breathing followed by quick, panicked footsteps grew louder in his ears, though he waited out to see the source of the sounds - that idiotic siren, of course - running  _ from something  _ in such a hurry, that she barely watched her step, nor did she seem to have enough control of her movements enough to manoeuvre around Sesshomaru, as he somehow positioned himself right in her path unknowingly. Before she could have crashed into his chest plate though, which essentially would have led to a painful injury, Sesshomaru took a slight step out of her way, while simultaneously wrapping his hand around her arm as she passed him to stop her from running head-straight into a tree too. 

He stood unyielding as the woman violently jolted forward, as her momentum would have pushed her forward, but his hand held her back just enough to avoid the tree that threatened to hit her forehead. A pained yelp escaped her lips as she stumbled back, having lost all balance, though the daiyoukai still held onto her arm firmly, making sure to keep her on her feet. Once the weight on his hand had lightened, he was certain she had finally regained her stance, he loosened his grip and let go of her completely. 

“What are you doing?” he turned to glance down at the still shaking woman. 

“There… was a spider… a spider…” she struggled to utter the words as she hunched over ever so slightly, hugging herself in terror. 

“A… spider,” Sesshomaru echoed in slight disbelief, only receiving a series of small nods in response from the woman. “A spider demon…?”

“No… no demon. Regular… eight legged spider,” she finally lifted her gaze to meet his, and for a spare second he considered asking whether or not she was trying to involve him in some sort of prank, but… she truly seemed mortified. “I really don’t like bugs…”

“Out of all the youkai and dangerous creatures that roam this forest, a… spider had sent you into such a panic? You really are just as moronic as you first seem,” he carefully brushed a couple silver strands over his shoulder, almost irritated that he bothered moving from his spot to save her from… a spider. “Are you done walking around on your own, woman?”

“I have a name, you know…” she had mumbled under her breath, once again forgetting that he could hear her loud and clear. Or did she intend to be heard?

“You never told me what it was,” his eyes narrowed as he watched the subtle changes in her expression as the realisation struck her.

“Oh… that’s right,” she drew her bottom lip beneath her teeth for a couple seconds, nervously eyeing the grass by her bare feet, before lifting her head to look him in the eye once more, a careful smile creeping onto her unnaturally symmetrical face. “Sayuri. My name is Sayuri. And you’re… Sesshomaru, right? Rin has called you by that name, so I assumed.”

“You assumed correctly.”

“Okay, well…” she paused, growing self-conscious at her lack of vocabulary, before shaking her head, almost as if to shake her nervousness away. “It’s… nice to meet you. Officially, that is.” 

He almost laughed out loud, had it not been for the fact that he just didn’t want to. Was she acting out a skit? Was she perhaps dropped on her head as a child? 

“Have you really not realised the situation you’re in? Or are you that daft?” he tilted his head as he spoke, almost curiously, though the mocking tone of his voice couldn’t have been more distinct. “I don’t wish to make friends with you. I only need your abilities for a short while, after which I don’t want to associate myself with you.”

“I know. Or… at least I guessed, but I’m not exactly used to being treated like this. Or working for anyone you know,” she began to fiddle with her hands, the same way she did when they first spoke. “I’ve never left the mountain before, so-”

“Save your breath, as I said I care very little about you.” 

“Yes, you’ve made that abundantly clear,” Sayuri let her head drop, sky blue strands covering her face like a curtain as she did so. “I’m just trying to make the best of my situation here. I know, you’re a big strong daiyoukai, you really couldn’t care less about anyone.”

“That’s right.”

“But then I’m a little curious, why do you travel with a human girl? Are you involved with her or something-”

“I’d tread very carefully, if I were you,” he interrupted her once again, though this time he didn’t hesitate to let the threatening anger show through the cracks of his emotionless mask. She immediately took a hesitant step back, going silent for a few seconds. 

Him? Involved with… how preposterous.

“I’m sorry. I’m not going to ask anything…”

And she didn’t. Silence sunk deep in the inuyoukai’s chest along with the anger he had to swallow, no matter how badly he wished to demonstrate just how little he tolerated nosy little wenches like her. He couldn’t allow himself to lose his temper and do something he cannot take back. He can always kill her once he doesn’t need her, but until then, he will have to tolerate her.

Though he already knew it was going to be a challenge not to slit her throat while working with her.


	5. Temptress

_ Voice sweeter than honey, sultry and harmonic, one that lulls you into a state of ecstasy, one you’ve never known before…  _

A siren’s song. Or more accurately, a siren’s magic. The song itself wasn’t all that special, a chain of delicately woven low and high notes all linking together to make up the melody that put all creatures to a trance. Of course different notes brought out different reactions, awakened different emotions, the issue lies within the fact that Sayuri wasn’t sure enough of what sort of reactions she would get with singing different melodies. She learned all of them, though she left before her training was complete, and she never once tried her powers of temptation on a man before. Be it human, youkai or otherwise, she just didn’t know how she would go about tempting a man… with her powers of course. 

Upon growing up in the Komori-uta mountains, she never once had the chance to converse with a man. The village hidden deep under veils and thick layers of magical barriers has mainly been inhabited by women and their daughters. All the men had withered away in time, or were forced to leave. 

The tradition dictated that once children were born into a family, the men would desert the village - along with their sons if any were born - as to make sure no siren’s voice was stolen from her. She never truly realised just how little she knew about the opposite gender until she deserted her hometown, and threw herself into the  _ real world _ , but not only did she decide to step through the magical barriers of the mountain, she strayed so far from home that even if she would wish to return, she wouldn’t know how. 

Her first interaction with the opposite gender was utmost unpleasant, as simple human men had ended up chasing her out of multiple villages, due to her appearance being an immediate giveaway of her immortality. And as she had to painfully learn, humans had a strong deeply rooted loathing towards not only youkai, but any creature who had demon blood flowing in their veins. So truly, she never had the chance to speak to let alone seduce a man. The fact that the longest conversation she had with a male was with Sesshomaru already said enough of her lack of experience.

“I’m screwed aren’t I…” she whispered under her breath as she sunk beneath the surface of the small pond she wandered off to in the early hours of the morning; she needed some time to clear her head after the sun had already risen and before Jaken and Rin would have woken up. 

Her eyes burned from sleep-deprivation, yet her mind proved to be too loud for her to drift into a slumber. It has been days, and she wondered whether or not she would start hallucinating soon, but alas… nothing would put her at ease. Not a thing.

She worried. Constantly, unstoppably, the uncertainty of her situation pushed her into a state of mild panic, which she had no other choice but to conceal, if she wished to avoid getting ridiculed by the inuyoukai. She was unsure of what would happen if she failed at acquiring information, she had very little to no idea as to whom she was meant to seduce, not to mention the fact that she failed to inform Sesshomaru about her premature abilities. It almost felt as if the Shinigami’s sword hung above her neck at all times, though she never knew when it was going to fall.

Yet somehow, being under the protection of someone so authoritative and powerful… lifted a different weight off her shoulders. She brushed with death far too many times for her liking since she had left her village. Far too many times was she reminded so painfully of her lack of physical prowess, her lack of knowledge of self-defense and fighting. And Sesshomaru, even at first glance, seemed like a battle-worn, well-trained strong youkai, one that very few individuals, if none would be able to defeat. She was safe from all other creatures, but… was she safe to be around him, when his unpredictable nature meant a wrong move could bring her early death?

_ I don’t know how I would… do this. I’ve never even kissed a man before... But I can’t tell that arrogant dog about this, he’ll kill me on the spot… He nearly slit my throat in the forest the other night just for asking about that human girl. Goddess knows what he’d do to me if I told him that I have yet to figure out how my powers work.  _

“I wonder if women work the same way men do… when it comes to kissing that is…” Merely thinking out loud, she mumbled after pulling herself up on a smaller rock, resting the rest of her body underwater. She stretched her fins out, letting the sun illuminate the scales dotted over her skin, each of them the colour of the sky itself. “It’s not like I don’t know how to kiss. I just don’t know how to kiss men. Does that make sense?” 

She lifted her desperate gaze on a squirrel, though unfortunately for her, the small animal had to be more occupied with looking for sustenance, than responding to her ridiculous questions. 

“Besides,” she continued to talk to the squirrel, even though she expected no response. “Who the hell do I need to seduce anyways? That Sesshomaru really didn’t give me a lot to go by… all he did was call me a moron. Not that I thought to ask… but god, he terrifies me, you know?” 

Awkward silence followed as the siren continued to glare at the small squirrel, only for her to realise that maybe she was going insane. Talking to animals like that.

“That dumb dog is driving me mad already-”

“So this is where you went!” Jaken’s loud, squeaky voice somehow came so unexpectedly out of nowhere, that Sayuri nearly choked on thin air in shock. She blinked rapidly, glaring at the small imp, who stood firmly planted in the grass by the pond, only a couple metres away from her. “Sesshomaru-sama can’t keep chasing you around to keep an eye on you, you undeserving skank, hurry up and finish with whatever you’re doing.”

“I didn’t ask him to keep an eye on me, I’m just bathing,” Sayuri hummed, resting her cheek against her arm as she continued to lean on the rock, half-hanging into the comfortably cooling water. “Hey, Jaken… that’s your name, right…?”

“It is, what about it?”

“You’re… you’re a man, correct?” she lifted her head slightly, as the idea of throwing her questions at a member of the opposite gender finally appeared in her mind. 

“Of course I’m a man, what kind of demented question is that?!”

“I have some questions for you then!” the woman gripped onto the rock with two hands as she pulled herself up, unintentionally revealing her naked upper body, which in this form was not covered in scales or anything other than a couple loose strands of blue hair slipping down her shoulders. 

“Ques- you- oh my god, cover yourself up! You harlot! Foul woman, what has to be wrong with you?!” the small demon had changed colours from green to red so admirably quickly, that Sayuri had begun to worry whether or not the poor creature was going to go into an aneurysm on the spot. He panickedly turned to face the trees instead, while actively covering his eyes, during which the siren could clearly see that even the back of his head went red. 

“Nothing is wrong with me…! What do you mean? Surely you can just cover your eyes if you don’t like the sight?” 

For a siren who has been raised amongst women, the sight of female breasts truly wasn’t all that fascinating. Or anything to be ashamed about for that matter. 

“Just cover yourself already you dirty whore!” Jaken squealed in utter shock horror. 

Sayuri sank back into the water, submerging herself all the way to her chin, in hopes of making the imp somewhat more comfortable, as she still needed her questions answered. 

“I’m covered, I’m covered,” the woman then proceeded to let out a sigh, although to her surprise, Jaken didn’t turn to face her again. “But… Jaken I’d still like to ask you some things. It’s to help me help Sesshomaru. You want to help him too, right?” 

“Sesshomaru-sama? Of course, I’m his loyal servant, I would do anything and everything to be of help to him!” the imp nodded so violently he nearly fell to his face, but still refused to turn around. 

“Okay… see I… I’m supposed to lend him my powers, and I’m just… curious to know if seducing men was any different from seducing women? Since I seduced women before, and I kissed women too… not men though. And I was wondering if there was anything I needed to do differently,” she hummed, swimming closer to the spot Jaken stood in, to be able to speak to him without having to shout over the lake. “I just want to do things right.” 

_ Mainly because I’m terrified of that daiyoukai… _

“You don’t even know what you’re doing?” Jaken finally turned to face her, but ended up stumbling back in panic when he realised how close the siren swam in the meantime. 

“No, I know what I’m doing. Sort of,” she corrected herself, fiddling with her hair as she once again rested her chin on her arm. “So… would you answer my question?”

“How would I know how to seduce a man?! Do I look like it’s my way of passing my free time?” the imp growled aggressively at the woman, who now shook her head in slight defeat.

“No… you’re right,” Sayuri dropped her forehead against her arms, a long, pained sigh escaping her upon doing so. She really was doomed, was she not…

“Get out of the water now, you’ve marinated long enough! Sesshomaru-sama is waiting. Don’t make me come back again,” Jaken scoffed oh so arrogantly, before waltzing off, though the siren was aware that next time he would come back, he would definitely swing that wooden staff of his at her face again. And as much as she loved the water, it just wasn’t worth the pain that two-headed stick caused last time.

So she resisted the urge to sink to the bottom of the pond and never come up again, and pulled herself out of the water. She shivered as the grass brushed against her scales, as she ever so carefully sat back, lifting her transparent fins out of the pond, watching as the blue scales slowly melted into her porcelain skin, the tail beginning to transform into a pair of slim ankles, unnaturally small feet and eventually, two long legs for her to walk on. A couple scales still remained on her thighs and arms, ones she was sure would eventually peel off as she goes on with her day.

A longing glance she still had to pay to the pond before she would have had to finally pull her legs up and stand up from her spot, shivers once again rushing down her spine with the cold air brushing against her sensitive wet skin. She began to squeeze the water out of her hair, a process she knew would take a long time - longer than she had before meeting her demise in the form of a two headed staff - so she hastily pushed as much moisture out of the strands as she could, before grabbing her clothes and slipping into them as quickly as she could manage. 

_ Okay. I can do this. I’ll survive, and then one way or another I’ll find my way back home.  _

She finally made her way back to the campsite, her hair still dripping wet, mud and dirt stuck to her bare feet yet she remained unbothered by it all. 

“Finally,” Jaken’s small face scrunched up as he laid eyes on the now fully dressed siren, though she didn’t choose to pay him much mind.

“Jaken,” the inuyoukai glanced down at his servant, and for a spare second Sayuri almost believed he was going to scold the imp for his vile behaviour. She was wrong. “Take Rin to the village nearby. I have business to attend to in further lands.” 

_ Of course he wouldn’t care how that little monster speaks to me… why would he… _

“Oh… right away Sesshomaru-sama! Come now, Rin,” the imp gave the human girl’s leg a gentle push, urging her to move forward, though his demands weren’t met as Rin lifted her worried gaze on the man instead.

“Sesshomaru-sama… are you taking Sayuri?” her eyebrows knitted into a frown, bringing a soft smile to the woman’s face. This girl only just met her recently, yet she sounded genuinely concerned about her wellbeing. This was the kindness Sayuri knew, the behaviour she was used to from others… not the cold shoulder Sesshomaru provided her each time the two of them interacted.

“Yes, she will be coming with me,” he nodded lightly, now gesturing for the girl to follow him. She waved goodbye to Rin, watching the girl be led away by the green little demon, before letting her head drop, watching her feet sink into the mud with every step she took towards Sesshomaru.

“Where are we going?” she failed to hold back her questions as she followed the dog demon down a barely walked path leading deeper into the woods. 

“We’re paying a visit to the Lord of the Northern Lands, Hirohito,” Sesshomaru dropped his gaze on the siren walking behind him, and slowed down to match his pace with hers. “I assume you know who that is.”

“No, I’m afraid not,” Sayuri’s cheeks flushed red from shame, she only now realised how little knowledge she possessed of the world outside Komori-uta. The scoff of sheer condescendence however didn’t come as a surprise anymore from the inuyoukai.

“He’s a powerful tora youkai who rules over the Northern Lands. You will need to know more about him if you want to seduce him enough to get inside his head,” the man’s eyes narrowed, and although Sayuri already was aware of how short she appeared beside the tall and mighty daiyoukai, she somehow felt unbearably petite under that gaze of his. “He’s arrogant, and takes liking to those who further feed his pride, but this can also be the weak-spot you’re looking for if you wish to be in his good graces. Do you understand?”

“So to put it simply, I will just have to appeal to his ego?” the woman brushed her index finger over her chin momentarily resting it there before letting her hand drop once more. “Okay… that doesn’t sound too challenging. But would you tell me what I’m supposed to be looking for? I have never looked inside somebody’s head, but I’m told unless I have a specific thing to be seeking, there will be a lot of information to skim through.”

She couldn’t miss the irritated twitch of the inuyoukai’s brow as her words registered in his mind. She didn’t mean to let it slip so easily, but alas, the damage has been done.

“The Lords of other lands, the East and the South seem to be in an alliance with Hirohito, and I sense there has to be foul play underway,” he lifted his chin ever so slightly, gazing over the trees, the leaves hovering above the two of them like a protective green shield of sorts. “I need to know as much about this alliance as you can gather from this man. Everything. Search every crevice of his rotten mind.” 

“Okay, so… the other lords. Will I meet them too?” Sayuri allowed herself more questions, though despite this being the most fruitful conversation the two of them had in the past three days, she still couldn’t help but feel awfully on edge around him. 

“Not if we can help it. I only wish to interrogate Hirohito and his concubine. He keeps some sort of mongrel under his roof to keep him company, and I’m certain that the dirty mutt knows more than he should.”

“...Sesshomaru,” Sayuri paused in her tracks as she slowly began to piece things together. “The Lord keeps a… male lover?” 

“And I need you to interrogate both. Are you having trouble processing?”

“...No, I’m having trouble with the fact that… I don’t think the Lord will be interested in me,” she nervously gestured at her figure, already having understood what the inuyoukai didn’t quite grasp, or maybe he didn’t care enough to put two and two together. “I’m a woman. And if what you say is true, the Lord won’t be interested in a woman.”

“Are you not a landwalker? Isn’t it your ability to seduce men?” the inuyoukai also came to a halt, turning around to face the woman. 

“Seduce, yes. Men who are interested in women. I can’t possibly make a man attracted to me, who isn’t attracted to women. You’d have more luck seducing him than I would-”

“Silence, you. Hirohito has kept many companions over the years, not consistently men or women,” his piercing gaze met hers, and suddenly, she wished she could sink six feet under in shame. “He will be interested in you. And I understand you find yourself quite humorous, but I don’t appreciate your jokes at my expense. My patience isn’t endless, so play with your life at your own risk.”

“I wasn’t making fun of you, I’m sincerely sorry… I suppose I didn’t want to waste time if Lord Hirohito wasn’t going to be seduced by me,” Sayuri jabbered, her lips trembling with every word uttered, though she felt like the ground was being pulled from beneath her feet. How embarrassing…! “I didn’t mean anything by it, I’m sorry.”

“You will have to learn manners, if you want to live,” Sesshomaru took a step towards her, once again making their dramatic height difference known to her. Though she couldn’t help but gasp in shock when he gripped her cheeks between his two fingers, painfully forcing her to lift her head. “I want you to know, you’re alive, because I allow it. And I only allow it, because your kind is rare. But don’t put my patience to a test, woman.”

Sayuri has never once in her life heard someone speak with such power behind each vowel and breath taken between words, yet so silently, so only she could hear. She wished she could recoil, move away from him, but his touch left her paralysed with fear.

“Understood?” he squeezed her cheeks tighter, as he hissed the words through gritted teeth. 

Unsure whether he noticed the tears welling up in her eyes, the siren whined out a quiet  _ yes  _ of sorts, which allowed her to be released from the powerful grip. 

“And to you, I’m Sesshomaru- _ sama  _ and nothing else,” he added, upon turning his back on her, leaving her to process his words.

_ How did I get myself into this situation…?!  _


	6. Lord of The Northern Lands

The palace where Lord Hirohito would usually reside, lay deeply hidden in the cold, snowy mountains of the North, and as it was to be expected, under the protection of multiple barriers to keep unsuspecting - or even malicious - mortals out, as well as any intrusive spirit that may have walked the path to the palace. 

The deep snow crunched violently beneath the siren’s feet as she hoped to keep up with the inuyoukai, though due to her height she had much more trouble breaking through the thick white blanket covering the landscape than he did.

“So… after I… after I get the information we need… what do I do?” her words stumbled into stutters following every second word as her blue lips struggled to form sentences, her entire body shivering from the freezing temperatures.

“Whatever you need to. Just make sure not to get caught.”

“What if he wants to go all the way though? I… can’t… I can’t do that… with him…” 

A pained yelp escaped her as she crashed into Sesshomaru’s back, shortly before losing her balance and falling on her back, not being able to escape from the small pile of snow slipping under her kimono. 

“C-cold! Cold!” she shrieked as the icy flakes melted against her warm skin, attempting to get back on her feet as quickly as she possibly could.

“And why exactly will that be a problem? That’s the only way you’d raise no suspicion. I will present you as a gift to Hirohito, you do what you need to-”

“I don’t want to lose my voice! If I sleep with a man, I will lose my song, how do you not know about that?!” the woman shook her head, and despite she feared Sesshomaru, she was going to put her foot down over this matter.

“You will not lose your power to see into others’ minds, will you?” the inuyoukai raised an eyebrow.

“No, but I’m not going to have sex with a stranger, Sesshomaru! Absolutely not. No way, not even if you kill me.” As her voice grew higher and louder, she began to swing her arms around awkwardly, almost as to bring her point across more effectively, but her fingertips froze to such an extent, that she couldn’t move them anymore, so her movements became stiff and somewhat doll-like. As if someone was dragging her around on strings.

“And you decide to tell me this once we have already come all the way here.” A long, incredibly strained sigh rolled down Sesshomaru’s lips, though even from an outside perspective it was obvious, he was fighting the urge to slit the siren’s throat on the spot. “Do you really value your singing voice that much, that you would rather die than lose it?”

“No, but if I lose it to a man, I at least want it to be someone… special. You wouldn’t want Rin laying with a man she doesn’t know, would you?”

“Leave Rin out of this.”

“Well I’m just saying, you can’t expect me to do something you wouldn’t want your human companion doing!” Sayuri lifted her foot to stomp it heavily onto the ground, but her leg met the resistance of the snow, so she ended up kicking a pile of snow onto Sesshomaru’s feet. His eyes darted to the cold load kicked in his direction, and a flash of what the siren was sure was some sort of homicidal urge flickered in his eyes, though it was gone as quickly as it appeared.

“Rin is a child, and you’re walking on _extremely_ thin ice…”

“Ironically, we’re in the middle of a snow mountain,” the woman crossed her arms in front of her chest challengingly, though her bravery could only be accounted to her already dire situation; being extremely aware that she would probably freeze to death soon enough, she somehow had a different outlook on her _employment._ “I’m not sleeping with him. I will kiss him for you, and acquire whatever information you desire, but that is as far as I will go… it’s already further than what I’m comfortable with, but it won’t harm me. But I will _not_ have sex with him.”

Her confronting gaze clashed with his intense glare, and only now did she realise that… maybe Sesshomaru himself was out of ideas. Maybe his loss of words, his threats only boiled down to the fact that he, the great and mighty Lord Sesshomaru had no idea how he could get the siren out of this situation.

“Fine. This will make things a lot more difficult for the both of us, but alternatively to sleeping with Hirohito, you can poison his drink.” From underneath the fabric of his sleeve, Sesshomaru lifted out a small clay vial, delicately woven onto a black silk lace. “This is a simple sedative I acquired from someone who specialises in medicine. Tasteless and colourless, so you should have a simple job mixing it in his drink. But after that, you won’t have much time to leave. His companion is always by his side, he will immediately sense foul play.”

“Ah… so let me get this straight,” she held her hand out letting him drop the small vial onto her palm ever so carefully. “You’re going to… give me to him as a gift, and I will have to wait to get him alone so I can get all the information, then poison his drink and get out of there.”

“You will need to interrogate his concubine too,” Sesshomaru added. 

“But… how could I possibly- oh. Nevermind, I think my colourful imagination had just answered that question,” the woman shivered, her face distorting to slight disgust from the overly _intimate_ image her mind just painted. 

“Would I want to know?”

“...Not if you don’t wish to lose all that tiny respect you may still have for me,” she shook her head.

“I think you may be overestimating the amount of respect I do have for you,” the inuyoukai finally turned around and began to walk towards their destination once again, though his words left Sayuri slightly shocked. That last… conversation they had almost sounded somewhat less hostile than before. Or was she hallucinating?

“Hurry up now,” he called, urging her to finally follow, so she obediently complied, having to lift her feet quite considerably to be able to catch up to him, but she managed in the end. 

“So… apart from what you’ve told me, what’s this Lord Hirohito like?” she couldn’t help but break the silence, not being able to bear it anymore. Travelling along with someone so painfully aloof and quiet was torture for a chatterbox like Sayuri. She needed some sort of casual conversation.

“I wouldn’t know. I don’t spend time amongst vermin.”

“Don’t say that so casually!” a surprised gasp escaped the siren at those words… Sesshomaru was talking about the Lord of The North after all. Why did Sesshomaru hate these Lords so much anyhow…? Was he some kind of rebel? “Are you trying to dismantle some sort of royal alliance?”

“Dismantle? I couldn’t possibly dismantle something that barely has a leg to stand on,” the youkai quickened his steady pace, so Sayuri, despite struggling to follow his lead, tried to keep up with him. “They create tension on their own, I just need to make sure they don’t create war.”

“Wow… you know if you told me you were trying to stop a war, I would have helped you on my own,” Sayuri offered a faint smile, though she could only convince Sesshomaru to pay her a side glance, not more. “I don’t like violence, or war… And I think you’re doing a wonderful thing, you know!”

“Is ‘ _you know’_ the new term you need to eliminate from your cretinous vocabulary?”

“Hey, I’m trying to compliment you, and you’re being so harsh!” the siren had once again attempted to stomp her foot, this time successfully doing so, only to meet a large wave of snow being kicked in her face; though by the time she brushed the snowflakes out of her eyes enough to see the culprit, Sesshomaru already strode way ahead of her, as if he didn’t just shove a large deal of frozen rain at her. “You did that on purpose!”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Sayuri brushed the snow off her kimono, before rushing to catch up with Sesshomaru _again,_ though this time she remained silent as to avoid getting anymore snow under her clothes. She had to note that despite being quite threatening and frankly terrifying, the inuyoukai seemed to prefer passive aggression as opposed to raw brutality, which often manifested in his disdainful teasing or… in this case, _subtly_ shoving an entire _landslide_ the woman’s way. And then pretending as if nothing had happened.

\- oOo -

As minutes turned into hours spent waiting to be welcomed by the Lord of the North, Sesshomaru began to lose faith in the success of this mission more and more. Perhaps it just became clearer and clearer to him over time that his _associate,_ namely Sayuri, had simply no experience with using her own abilities for spying purposes, which he just assumed was going to mean a great deal of complications in the near future. 

Not to mention the fact that Hirohito seemed to be pulling some sort of a power-play, as to assert his dominance over his guests; making them wait for hours on end to therefore send a powerful message, that the Lord of the West and his generous peace offering was not worth his time. Of course the only way Sesshomaru could even sell this situation as believable was if he offered the siren - or in his carefully fabricated story, succubus - as a gift to keep the fragile peace between the two lands. After all, he was well aware that the tug of war happening over territory between the other three lords and humankind has been getting out of hand, so much so that the inuyoukai could almost hear the clock ticking over his head. It was only a matter of time or impulsive decisions that his land would be next. 

After Naraku’s defeat, Sesshomaru finally reclaimed his title as the Lord of the Western Lands, and finally accepted his role as a protector of the territory, as he had no other enemies to face, and no other important duties to attend to. Tending to his father’s legacy was more important than any trivial interest of his, and he had to accept this sooner or later. Soon after he began to do the work necessary to protect his land, these young yet abnormally powerful heirs rose to power almost at once - only with a few years of delay - and began to claim land that was not theirs to take; destroying human villages, forcing mortals and lowlife youkai into slavery to expand their borders, and so far, the three of them have been having a great time doing so in an alliance. 

Sesshomaru wanted no part of such pathetic vanquishments; he deemed them dishonorable, frivolous and simply barbaric. He held himself to a higher standard than stooping quite so low as these so-called conquerors did. And he didn’t fail to make that abundantly clear to all three of them, as well as letting them know that his land was to be excluded from these deplorable affairs. 

So they excluded him completely. Over time, they grew more and more greedy and so mad with power, that the inuyoukai had no choice but to begin an investigation and put an end to the war before it would even begin. He cared so little for them, but they put his father’s legacy in jeopardy. And he was not going to let that happen.

But unlike any situations he had to deal with in his lifetime, he couldn’t act on an impulse. Personal matters and politics were to be approached in a completely different manner, as so many threads connected to each and every little puppet in this game that cutting out only one would have made the system collapse. He had to play it smart. Which was why Sayuri’s incompetence infuriated him to no end. So much was on the line, so much the siren knew nothing about. And she took it too lightly. 

“Does he know we’re here?” the woman turned to him questioningly.

“He does,” answered Sesshomaru, sitting motionlessly in his spot on the guest pillows the servants had placed down for them in the lounge of this grand palace that most probably had many other rooms like this one. “We did arrive unannounced. He’s making a statement.”

“And what’s that statement supposed to be? He’ll bore us to death?”

“Sayuri, behave yourself,” the youkai’s gaze darted to her warningly, knowing that the servants still in the room would blab anything they hear. In a royal palace, there was no such thing as privacy. “Remember what I’ve told you. Mind your manners.”

“Of course,” she shifted slightly in her seat, seemingly understanding the hidden message behind his words. He mentioned the servants’ tattletale nature to her, and warned her about all she had to pay attention to, he just hoped it would stick in that asinine mind of hers. “I’m just… a little hungry I suppose. I’m sorry.”

He drew a deep breath, slowly inhaling to swallow all the scornful comments at the tip of his tongue. He was above bickering under his enemy’s roof.

“Be patient,” he proceeded to respond, after filtering through all of his possible words. Somehow this sounded the tamest.

He lifted his head when the sound of heavy footsteps echoed in the distance. The siren’s sudden alertness confirmed that she too could hear it too. The sound of the door sliding against its path, clicking quietly as it opened fully released a sense of fulfillment in him, or more so relief, that the wait was over. 

His gaze met half a pair of crimson orbs, menacingly examining the guests sitting in the room, the Lord’s long dark hair covered half of his narrow, pale face, a pair of daiyoukai markings glowing from beneath the raven strands. He stood tall - much taller than Sesshomaru, he was aware - his clothes curving around his toned muscles, overall contributing to a large, threatening figure. 

The inuyoukai opened his mouth to greet Hirohito first - as he was the guest after all, no matter how the humility had sunk in his chest - but the words got stuck in his throat as he felt the smallest tug on the fabric of his kimono. From his peripheral vision, he noticed Sayuri had latched onto his sleeve, and began to pull on it for attention, her entire body shivering as her scent shifted, fear reeking off her frame.

“Sesshomaru...” she whispered. “Sesshomaru...He’s going to break me in two…” 

This was already off to an awful start.


	7. Nailed it

From the moment she had laid eyes on the Northern Lord, the weight of dreadful anticipation had settled in her stomach, and despite positively starving almost a second ago, she had lost all of her appetite.

In her panic she found the only ally she had in her situation, and chose to cling to Sesshomaru for safety; her fingers clutching the fabric of his sleeve desperately as she refused to look either Hirohito or the inuyoukai in the eye.

“Sesshomaru, what a  _ pleasant surprise. _ ” Hirohito’s deep, sultry voice sent violent shivers down the siren’s spine, causing her grasp on Sesshomaru’s kimono to grow tighter.

_ He’s going to end me… this man is… this man is huge… _

When Sesshomaru rose to stand, he dragged the siren up to her feet also, as she continued to latch onto him as if he were the only thing that could keep her safe from that… beast of a man.

“Hirohito,” the inuyoukai lifted his gaze to meet the Lord’s, and only now did it dawn on Sayuri that the man who was supposed to guard her… was just so small compared to the tora-youkai. The air tasted cold on her tongue all of a sudden as she inhaled sharply at the disrespectful tone Sesshomaru chose to use towards Hirohito, not even addressing him as a Lord of any sort. “I trust you have been well.”

“And you. Now, what brings you to the glorious lands of the North? I thought you said you wanted nothing to do with the likes of  _ us. _ ”

She kept her head down, daring not to look at either of them, though there was something undeniably different about Sesshomaru’s aura now. His usually graceful, suffocatingly potent presence now muted, yet the anger simmering beneath the calm surface was painfully obvious to her still. And it terrified her. 

“I was closeby on other business, and thought I would pay a visit. And I come bearing gifts,” he gestured at the woman, who quailed at the attention all of a sudden drawn to her. Was she going to be devoured by this tiger demon? Was he going to kill her?

“You brought me a banshee?” the tiger jeered, the floorboards crying beneath his feet as he strode to cross the room, and without warning, firmly gripped Sayuri’s arm hauling her away from the inuyoukai. She dared not to make a sound as the clawed fingers slid beneath her jawline, drawing a delicate line to her chin, forcing her to look up and face this large man.

“She is no banshee,” Sesshomaru sounded rather perturbed, yet still, much more contained than Sayuri has ever seen him be. 

“She’s quivering like one, but my, isn’t she a delicate one!” Hirohito’s thumb brushed over the woman’s bottom lip, forcing her mouth open ever so slightly. She wished to perish under his touch, every inch of her body screaming to be as far away from him as possible. Yet she couldn’t bring herself to recoil, despite the humiliation this man’s actions brought upon her. “I must say, Sesshomaru, you have good taste. So what sort of creature is this? I have never seen youkai of such beauty before.”

_ I can’t do this. I can’t. I thought I could, for the sake of my life, but… I would rather die than kiss this man. I cannot do it. _

Sayuri never felt filthier before, than she did right there with this demon towering over her, his exploring hands slipping onto her neck as if he was trying to examine the woman as much as he could. Is this really what men are like? So shamelessly grabbing someone in the presence of so many others?

“A succubus,” responded the inuyoukai. Sayuri wished she could escape the tiger demon’s touch and rush behind Sesshomaru, as right now, he served as the only source of safety. She didn’t know him well, but he never once raised a hand on her like this. He never once treated her as if she was some meat on the market, something to be sold or used. She assumed all men were like him. All youkai men at least. She knew human men couldn’t control their beastial urges, but… was this true for all men?

“A succubus!” Hirohito echoed, gripping onto Sayuri’s shoulders, her small tiny shoulders which almost got lost in his large hands. “You are in my good graces, my friend. Oh how much victory will I have with a comfort woman like her sort… You should visit more often if you are bringing such wonderful presents. She is so petite and precious. Now, let us have supper! I believe I haven’t had the chance to have a meal with the infamous Lord of the West.”

_ Lord of the West?! _

“I’m not interested in socialising. That might be why,” replied Sesshomaru, his indifference somehow hurting more than ever. Did he not see how Hirohito handled her? How he touched her all over…

“Well I insist, it would be rude of me not to provide sustenance. Although you barely care about manners,” Hirohito tilted his head to the side, before letting go of the siren’s shoulders, pulling her to his side instead, resting his hand on her hip now. Her gaze darted to the inuyoukai, though disappointment welled in her heart when she discovered that now like at all times, his expression didn’t change. He didn’t care.

She wished she could scream. Hide and cower away from this endeavour, or even die just to avoid one like this from happening ever again. She was aware, Sesshomaru only cared for her as much as he cared for his swords, if not less. But enclosed between these walls filled with such hostility, her only means of escape, her anchor subconsciously became the dog demon, and to realise that he couldn’t care less what Hirohito does to her, how he handles her despite knowing she was untouched… it almost felt like a betrayal. He was supposed to protect her, yet he stood there, unconcerned as ever. 

“Very well,” he nodded finally. “I suppose I can spare the time.”

“Wonderful!” Hirohito exclaimed, his voice echoing off the rice paper walls like menacing thunder. As he turned around to leave, he dragged the woman with him, his hand firmly planted on her hip, his fingers caressing over the fabric of her kimono. “Have you heard about our latest conquest?”

“I have little interest,” Sesshomaru’s response was quiet, his voice haughty, yet still much less than usual.

“Oh you’re saying that now, but even you would marvel at my victories,” a laugh erupted from Hirohito’s throat, yet it was nothing short of forced, almost haunting. Sayuri kept peering over her shoulder, darting helpless gazes to the inuyoukai, as a silent cry for help. “No human can possibly escape my army, and at my feet, even the greatest of mountains would bow.”

Sesshomaru remained silent, and although Sayuri was aware it was a sign of indifference, the tiger demon took it as an endorsement to indulge in his ridiculous stories. 

Sayuri’s gaze locked on her now bare feet; as she abandoned her shoes at the entrance of the palace, an action the inuyoukai seemed to marvel at ever so slightly, to the point of actually mentioning to her that such actions were unnecessary.

She wished to shorten her steps, but the arm wrapped around her waist solidly stopped her from doing so. She continued to peer over her shoulder at Sesshomaru, hoping for some sort of salvation that would never come.

While actively boasting about his killings, the Lord of the North led them into a large dining room, with a low table, one with several sitting pillows placed around it; the fabric delicate and clearly hand woven for the owner’s comfort.

“Come, sweetheart, sit by my side,” Hirohito purred in her ear, prompting her to take a seat beside him, across from where Sesshomaru chose to claim a pillow. “Now, I will arrange for supper. What meal does your heart desire, son of the great Inu no Taisho?”

The corner of the inuyoukai’s mouth seemed to twitch at the mention of his father, though it did so subtly Sayuri wouldn’t have caught the motion if she wasn’t staring at his face.

“I have no preference,” came the short, quiet response. 

“Ah, I see. Now you have to try the delicacies of the North if you haven’t done so already in all your years.”

“I’m unsure whether that was an insult to my age, or your twisted way of showing respect to me, as I am much older,” Sesshomaru interrupted the tora-youkai, much to his dismay, yet he seemed to not care.

Sayuri stifled an irritated scoff. Of course, he would only care if this mutt insults him, he has no regard for what he does to her, so long as she comes out of it alive. 

_ Arrogant pooch! _

“A sign of my reverence, of course,” Hirohito laughed, once again so loud that it brought on a headache. The woman shivered as the tiger demon pulled himself up to his feet. “I will return soon, I shall arrange for food now.”

The siren waited for the man to leave, and listened out for his steps to quieten, before she turned to face the inuyoukai, anger swirling in her blue orbs.

“You…! You care so little about me!” she hissed through gritted teeth, only receiving a raised brow of intrigue as a response, which somehow seemed to anger her more. Her, who could rarely bring herself to hurt a fly lest it was bothering her too much.

“Have you only just come to that conclusion? You really are slow.”

“But…! He touched me all over, seized me like I was meat on a market… And you didn’t even care! You were supposed to protect me,” she leant forward, her palms pressing on the table top to support her as she moved closer to Sesshomaru, in order to avoid raising her voice. “You were supposed to… not let these things happen to me…!”

“He didn’t harm you, I don’t see the issue,” his golden eyes examined her face, before his gaze locked with hers. No emotions, not even a little bit of irritation. “Now settle down, before he returns. I don’t wish to explain why you’re getting so close to me.”

“You didn’t even tell me you were the Lord of the West!” she cried out, wanting to hold something against him. Anything, but he seemed to dismiss all claims.

“You never asked. Now sit,” he gestured at the pillow she knelt forward on, urging her to return to her previous position. 

Furious, but defeated, Sayuri collapsed onto her seat, her head dropping as her hair draped over her shoulders. She clenched, then unclenched her fists, to try and deal with her anger. She wanted to punch Sesshomaru, even if it would have meant breaking her hand. He was the cause for all of this. Had it not been for him, she would be free now, not in the palace of some high and mighty… pervert.

“Stupid poodle,” she spat out of pure hatred, and despite not having a sensitive nose, the taste of the air shifted on her tongue. Even she knew how far she pushed her luck. But there was nothing Sesshomaru could do right now. Not under Hirohito’s roof. Not in his dining room, where every small movement was monitored. But the way the overwhelming, potent presence burned her throat like acid, sent violent shivers through her limbs. Yet she didn’t care. 

She watched his eyes close slowly, then exhale, yet again so slowly that she could practically sense the fury he was keeping at bay. Only for it all to disperse as if it never existed, when he opened his eyes once again, the cold golden orbs emotionless, indifferent like nothing ever went down in his head.

“Behave yourself,” his eyes narrowed, his voice still quiet so the servants wouldn’t hear him, yet something menacing still slipped into his tone.

“I’ll consider it,” she retorted under her breath.

\- oOo -

She will consider it. She. Will. Consider it.

Sesshomaru decided to concentrate on every breath he took, taste the stale air as it travelled to his lungs, then exhaled slowly, silently, hoping his anger would be washed away by the next breath of fresh air. Though much to his distaste, he wasn’t so lucky.

This woman… this woman he promised to protect, this woman he could have - and should have - killed so many times by now, who toyed with his patience and now with the fate of his father’s legacy had such audacity to call him degrading names, fully aware of how little he could do against her in his situation. 

She couldn’t see his clenched fists under the table, the seething behind his emotionless mask, the urge to unleash his fury upon all that surrounded him, leaving nothing but debris and death behind. To destroy this whole palace and everyone in it. To break, to stomp to punch, to cause such mass destruction even the gods would cower in fear. 

But he had to remind himself once again, why he did what he did. Why he swallowed so thickly with every second passing, even though his cheeks tingled and his entire body grew hot with rage. For his land. For his territory, and his people. The people who now were in his protection whether he liked it or not.

Before he could open his mouth, and whisper a colourful death threat to this foul woman, the sound of the heavy footsteps put a halt to his suffering. 

The old wood cried as the door sled open, Sayuri’s expression still not softening as the dark haired daiyoukai had sunk to his seat on her side. Sesshomaru couldn’t help but stare blankly at the woman, his gaze becoming obvious to the Lord of the palace too.

“What ails you, my friend?” he rested his elbow on the table, his tone now soft as if he truly had let his guard down around the inuyoukai.

“No concern of yours,” came the cold response, though a quiet growl emerged from his throat as he averted his gaze. Friend?! 

This insolent fool truly thought Sesshomaru to be his ally? Was he that naive?

“Nonsense! A concern to a daiyoukai is a concern to another. Go on,” Hirohito waved his hand around carelessly, while his other arm now wrapped around Sayuri’s waist, drawing the woman close once again.

Sesshomaru drew a long breath, his now relaxed hand twitching ever so slightly as his self-control failed him over and over again. But kami was his witness, he tried.

“Nothing to share with you, Hirohito,” his tone grew reprimanding, and yet somehow it seemed to have affected this reckless child. Because that’s what he was, in the inuyoukai’s eyes.

Young and stupid, a naive child who was handed power far too soon, far too much for his tiny brain to handle. And the more time he spent conversing with this  _ boy  _ \- in lack of a better word, he was no man - the more convinced he became of this fact. Without the other two, this one didn’t seem at all that much. They used him for how young and naive he was, with nothing under his belt other than raw brute force.

“Ah, all right, I pry too much, I am aware. I wouldn’t dream of offending you, Sesshomaru,” another laugh, now a less potent one escaped Hirohito as his hand slipped down Sayuri’s side, his fingers gripping at her thigh now. His gaze darted to the siren’s face, noting the clear discomfort lingering on her features, yet it dispersed as soon as it appeared, as a sheepish smile curled her plump lips instead.

Intrigued by the sudden shift in her demeanour, Sesshomaru silently watched as she reached to rest her hand on top of Hirohito’s, her fingers caressing over the knuckles gripping the fabric of her kimono. 

“You wouldn’t dream of offending me, yet you act so indecent in my presence,” the inuyoukai’s eyes narrowed, much to both the tiger demon’s and the siren’s surprise. Hirohito lifted his hand off the woman’s inner thigh resting it on the table as if he was a child caught stealing candy. How pathetic. “Seize the woman in your own time, not mine.” 

“Of course! She is just so… well you chose her out for me, you would know,” Hirohito shifted slightly, turning his face to look the woman on his side in the eye. “I just can't wait to make her mine finally. Her entire presence is so enticing it's almost an insult to have her on display in such a way.”

“One would think you’d have your animalistic urges under control.” 

Not like Sesshomaru apparently, whose anger kept spilling out, no matter how badly he tried to keep it at bay. For this woman to make him lose his composure in such a way… in front of one of his very foes no less… she was going to pay, he decided. 

He will not aid her in escaping in any way, if the tiger decides to have her for himself, he can do so. He would wait it out. If she fails to poison him, and ends up losing her voice, that will be her own fault.


	8. Siren's kiss

By the time dinner had arrived at the dining room, Sayuri lost her appetite. She glared at the food in utter silence, listening to the torayoukai chew every bite loud and slow, as if he were purposefully trying to irritate everyone else in the room. She soon noted that unlike the tiger, Sesshomaru ate silently, barely looking up from his food, not making a mess at all. Like royalty should, she supposed.

“I thought daiyoukai didn’t eat human food,” she spoke up, poking at the rice in her bowl with her chopsticks like a picky child. 

“It’s for the enjoyment of the meal, sweetheart,” Hirohito laughed, his mouth full, making Sayuri inevitably recoil. “Nothing compares to cooked meat I tell you… you need such sustenance though, why won’t you eat darling? You already are so frail, however would you bear a child?”

Sayuri had precariously lifted a cup to her lips to take a sip of wine, though at the comment made by the daiyoukai, she inhaled sharply, the liquor on her tongue immediately racing into her lungs. 

_ A what?! _

She slammed the cup down, beginning to cough loudly to try and free her airways of the burning liquid, hunching over slightly as she covered her mouth. A heavy hand fell against her back, painfully smacking it twice; knowing it will induce some bruises. 

“Hey now, don’t suffocate.”

“I’m okay my lord…” she heaved, resting her palm against her chest, massaging the burning area gently. “I drank far too fast I’m afraid. I am all right now.” 

She momentarily locked eyes with the inuyoukai across from her, though in those spare seconds she couldn’t recognise any emotions from his gaze. As if the spat they had an hour ago was nothing but a memory. 

“Right, good. Careful now, and eat! You will need your energy tonight. I would introduce you to my dear lover too, I am sure he would appreciate the company just as I do,” Hirohito rested his hand on her back, his palm slipping down her spine, and stopping at the back of her waist, yet there was nothing caring or loving about the gesture. It was sheerly to explore her figure, to touch her wherever he could, appropriately or otherwise. 

“I am honoured, my lord,” Sayuri forced a smile on her face, her grip tightening on her chopsticks. She needed to eat, she knew, but not for what the lord had planned for her. No…

Silence draped over the room once more as the siren too began to eat, slowly, delicately dissecting her food into small bites.    
  
“Sesshomaru, you should stay the night, it’s already so late! Besides, the air has changed… I sense a snowstorm.” 

“I have my own matters to attend to, Hirohito,” the inuyoukai responded. 

“I’m well aware… I got ahead of myself a little,” the man let out a nervous laugh. Sayuri watched him from the corner of her eye. Almost as if he… he tried to be friendly with Sesshomaru. “It’s rare to have such sophisticated company around here, you see.” 

“Perhaps you should surround yourself with more sophisticated associates.” Sesshomaru placed his chopsticks beside his plate neatly, pushing his empty bowl away from himself afterwards. 

“Ah… are you finished?” Hirohito frowned. Sayuri felt nothing short of appalled at the lord’s behaviour. As prudent and cocky he seemed at first… now she viewed him as nothing but a rash young man. Somebody who clearly didn’t have a clue of what he was doing. Somebody who craved validation so dearly that he was willing to crawl at Sesshomaru’s feet for it… not quite literally, but even she could tell, he was beginning to lose his spine slowly but surely. 

And at this point she was sure he didn’t make them wait so long to make a point. No… he must have tried to make everything perfect… After all, Sesshomaru was a perfectionist. More or less. 

“So it would seem. The meal was appreciated. I must make my exit now,” the inuyoukai pushed himself back on his pillow, before gracefully getting up on his feet. Sayuri noted, there was not a trace of that anger she saw flicker in his eyes a little while ago… instead she couldn’t help but notice a glint of… something much more menacing. As he rested his gaze on her, their eyes locked momentarily, her blood froze from that icy cold glare of his. Usually Sesshomaru’s expression was hollow, void of all emotion, but… there was plenty to read from this time. 

_ Now I’ve really done it… god… he’s going to kill me. _

“All right. I will see you out then,” Hirohito also rose from his seat, following after Sesshomaru as both of them left the room, leaving Sayuri alone with the dreadful realisation… she was up. 

A servant girl stood in the corner, holding what seemed like a bottle of sake or wine, the siren was unsure… but one thing was for certain, she couldn’t put any sort of poison into the lord’s drink while his servants were watching. If she wished to interrogate him, she would’ve needed more privacy. 

She inhaled sharply, filling her lungs with cold air, hoping it would bring some sort of comfort, though her chest grew tighter and tighter at the thought of… what would Hirohito do to her if it was only the two of them… if he treated her in such a way while someone else was around…

Dread filled her throat, its bitter taste on her tongue tying knots on her stomach. She had to settle down before the lord returned… being a daiyoukai, his nose must be just as sensitive as Sesshomaru’s, he will immediately notice her nervous odor. No, that wouldn’t be any good.

Upon gazing over the closed windows of the room, taking in the delicately decorated dining room she never noticed until now… something dawned on her. Something bringing a sense of sheer ecstasy. 

She realised she could make a run for it now. Just run, never to be seen again, by either Hirohito or Sesshomaru. 

Just as she moved to stand, the door slid wide open, Hirohito’s figure appearing once again. In defeat, she sank, feeling as though she had just passed up a grand opportunity, by spending far too much time pondering her decision. 

“Shall we head off to my quarters? I’m  _ dying  _ to see what you are capable of behind closed doors,” the man held his hand out to Sayuri, though as she reached up to accept the help, she was immediately yanked to her feet, once again reminding her painfully, that she was nothing but a toy to play with in the Lord’s eyes. 

_ I don’t want to do this. I wish I stayed home, I wish I listened to my mother…  _

Sayuri obediently fell into step beside the man, the large hand once again slipping onto her waist, now squeezing her against the Lord’s side, almost in a half embrace. 

“Just the two of us, my lord?” she dared not to look up, but the question still escaped her tongue. 

“For now! I want to have you all to myself the first try… you really are astonishing, but… I have yet to decide whether to keep you or not. If you don’t satisfy me tonight, my soldiers will have you.” 

Sayuri allowed herself a small nod, every inch of her body fighting off a violent shiver. That sort of fate… nobody deserved. She never knew, never understood just how vile, barbaric and unruly the outside world was, and although she had her fair share of troubles with violent mortals, hell even pushy men… this was somehow beyond anything she could coherently grasp.

“I will satisfy you my Lord,” she then proceeded to blurt out. 

“You better.”

The siren continued to glare at her feet. Hirohito’s demeanor has completely changed the moment Sesshomaru left his home, as if the mask of a naive, insolent child had broken apart and shattered beneath their feet, and in its place rose someone more menacing, more cruel than Sayuri could ever imagine. And that, that innocent act of a naive rash demon somehow had her fooled all along. Of course, Sayuri assumed she wouldn’t be treated with respect, yet handing her over to be a plaything of soldiers…

The creak of a sliding door had dragged her back to reality, as Hirohito had led her into his own sleeping quarters; the overly decorated bedroom, distasteful paintings hanging from the rice-paper walls did no favours for the already cramped space. The dark floorboards covered in rugs of different patterns and colours, clearly either imported from outside of the country, or simply just tailored to a different culture’s standards. Either way, Sayuri has never seen such patterns and hemming before today.

Hirohito released her, ordering her to take a seat on the futon, the small table on the side already having some drinks prepared for the lord to drink. 

“Care for some fine wine?” he sat beside her, uncomfortably close, his arm already wrapping around her waist to pull her in. 

Sayuri nodded, and took a deep breath. She needed to pull herself together, if she wanted to get out of this place… before this man would have his way with her. She had kissed people before, this time would be no different. 

“Of course my Lord,” her smile coy, as she tried to ponder how to go about poisoning the Lord’s drink. She watched, almost impatiently as Hirohito poured the dark liquid into their cups, placing the jug down on the small table carefully. Before he could have reached for the drinks though, the siren had to realise, the timeframe to act was slowly but surely closing, growing shorter with every passing second. 

She reached out, her fingertips tracing Hirohito’s jawline, and surely enough the crimson gaze slowly locked with her own, almost curiously to see what she was planning to do. She was unsure herself, though she knew… it had to be something to avert the lord’s attention completely from the cups. 

_ Well… there’s only one thing to do now I suppose… _

She leant up, pushing all of her worry and dread to the back of her mind as she locked her lips against his, her kiss anticipating, gentle, all she’s ever known to do. A short gasp escaped the other before she received reciprocation, strong arms wrapping around her slim figure, though as soon as Hirohito had lost himself in their kiss, it had immediately set something off in Sayuri’s mind. 

Memories, emotions, visions engaging all her senses had flooded her brain, and for seconds she felt as if her soul had lifted out of her body… only momentarily. All of these feelings, the smells, the sights, a self that did not belong to her was now open for her to read like a book in a library, all laid out before her eyes so neatly. 

Her stomach had tied in knots at all she had to skim through. Bloodshed and torture, all plagued this man’s mind like a withering disease, so much pain and suffering cast by his hand, that even seeing it from his perspective had sent her mind into a spiralling storm of despair. Because what she failed to understand from the very beginning, that memories were not merely images circulating in someone’s mind. Memories were all that a person had to say, had to think about what they have witnessed.

And this man… this man was in so much pain. So much pain from what he was forced to think was triumph, but all it brought him was anguish. 

_ Concentrate. Concentrate, you need to know more about… about this alliance. _

She had to look past the blood soaked blades and the sound of cold steel ripping into flesh, having to search for all information she could of this alliance Sesshomaru spoke of… Sesshomaru…

_ The sound of rain crashing down deafeningly against a terracotta rooftop above her head was the first thing she noticed, before the scenery unfolded before her eyes. A circular table, with two tall men sitting on each side; and someone, another silhouette she could not read just across from the observer. The observer Hirohito. _

_ “Sesshomaru? What about him?” the man on Hirohito’s left spoke up, voice so raspy and deep, it sent shivers down the young tora’s spine. _

_ “He’s going to have a thing or two to say about this predicament, no?” Hirohito’s tone rang differently from what Sayuri remembered him sounding like. Not that cocky, disdainful child she’s heard before. No, this man’s voice was quiet, almost scared. _

_ “What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him, son,” the deep voiced man spoke again. Sayuri watched the gaze from the table lift on the man. She immediately knew the name, despite never seeing him before. Tanaka.  _

_ “That foolish dog is no more than a nomad,” the silhouette spoke now… surprisingly in the voice of a woman. “There may be thousands of years of experience under his belt, but he is aloof. He knows not, how to lead his country.” _

_ “The West will fall, you’ll see,” Tanaka brushed through his long silver hair as he spoke. A young face, Sayuri had to note. Young and handsome. “And the dog will hand it over to us willingly.” _

_ “How so?” Hirohito cleared his throat, Sayuri could feel his fingers’ impatient taps against the rough table surface. “He never seemed like the type to just willingly surrender.” _

The voices, the conversation faded to dark, despite the siren trying her best to hold on. There was no helping it, the connection was broken.

When she finally parted from Hirohito’s lips, the entire room spun with her, her breath ragged from their intense kiss she wasn’t even aware they shared, her senses slowly tuning back into her surroundings. She became aware of the hand unraveling her kimono, the aggressive kisses travelling down her neck, and as soon as the initial trance faded, dread once again filled her entire body. 

She's forgotten to poison Hirohito’s drink. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh this one was a bit of a doozy to write. I'm a bit inexperienced with writing these visions, and need I say, my first language isn't English? Hehe. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it though!


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